Lovesick
by Sally Stevens
Summary: Percy Jackson is telephatic and lovesick. Annabeth Chase is intelligent and hateful towards him. There seems to be some history between them, but Percy doesn't remember anything (and her). Will they get together or will Percy and Annabeth remain lovesick and heartbroken? Percabeth Telepathy AU. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wrote this for Valentine's Day, but got delayed to post it. It's hard to not hate everything you write when you have a migraine. Plus, I had a few birthdays to plan for this past week, with little time to squeeze in to type. And I'm really slow at typing which y'all know. So this is late, but this is Percabeth, so I couldn't stop writing until I finished it.**

* * *

 _ **Telepathy AU**_

"Hey, Percy, wait up!", I heard a voice call from behind me. I paused in my tracks and glanced back to see Leo, one of my best friends, running towards me. Or rather, he was shoving past people and getting cursed at. School had just got over and all the students were heading out, bracing themselves for the chilly weather outside. I, instead, was going back inside the school because I had forgotten my binder in my locker and I needed to take it home. Tomorrow was Saturday and I just couldn't live without my binder for a whole weekend. Besides, school was off on Monday, so I'll next be coming back to school on Tuesday. So I fought the storm of sophomores and seniors, and had just barely managed to get to the hallways, which were quite empty.

"Hey, man", I greeted him, "Do you need a ride back home or something?"

 _'After what I'll tell you, you'll never let me step a foot in your car'_ , Leo thought nervously.

"What? What did you do now?", I asked, worrying if Leo had gotten himself or me in trouble. I entered the pass-code on my locker.

Leo's eyes widened and then after a flash of realization in his eyes, he breathed out a sigh and said, "Dude, you scared me. Why am I the only one who keeps forgetting that you can read minds?!"

I wanted to chuckle at his antics but his thoughts earlier had me occupied. I put my binder in my bag and shut the locker. "Spit it out, Leo. Did you get me in trouble? Did you go and tell a whole other bunch of people that I can read minds? Wait, did the teachers find out that I can read minds?"

 _'It's worse than that; way worse'_ , Leo thought and shook his head at my questions.

"I... Uh, you know that Tuesday is Valentine's Day, right?", he asked me, before I could question his thoughts.

I nodded suspiciously. I hope he didn't get me a blind date. That'd suck.

"Um, Drew and her posse tricked me into hosting a 'Pay and find out if your crush has a crush on you' thing. Perce, she tricked me! She got a whole horde of girls and they were begging that I should do it. The girls wanted to find out if they'll waste their day pursuing some guy who doesn't even like them back. And that beefy guy who's a senior but is like, 20 years old, also threatened me, and you know he's Drew's boyfriend, and he'd chew me and spit me out if I didn't do what he and his bitchy girlfriend wanted, so I had to agree. I really tried-"

I cut Leo off, "Oh, that means you got yourself in trouble, not me. Thank god!"

Leo's thoughts were too jumbled up for me to focus enough to read them. Though, I could tell he was panicking and rambling even in his thoughts. I narrowed my eyes at him. If he was panicking so much, there was definitely more to it.

"Leo, what did you do?", I repeated, folding my arms.

He gulped and gesticulating wildly, he began ranting "Well, **I** 'll be the one hosting the 'find out if your crush likes you back' thing, but **I** don't have mind powers, like **you**. And the advisor/counsellor should obviously have the ability to read minds, like **you**. And basically, Drew and all the girls know **you** can read minds, and pretty much all of them have the hots for **you**. And everyone knows we're such good buddies, and I'd be the only one who could convince you to do this... ", he trailed off.

"Convince me to do _what_?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at Leo.

 _'Don't kill me, don't kill me'_ , he thought and raised his hands in front of him, like I might hit him. Then Leo said, in one breath:

"Percy, you'll be the counselor in the 'find out if your crush likes you back' thing I'm hosting."

" _What_?!" I exclaimed loudly and it echoed off the empty hallway.

Leo visibly winced, hands still raised. I grabbed him by his arm and shook him.

"DUDE, why'd you do that? You know I don't like showing off my powers like that! And I'd have to spend the whole day surrounded by girls!", I exclaimed, dreadfully.

Leo pulled himself out of my grip, "I told you I got tricked by Drew, man! Otherwise, I'd never put you in trouble purposely!"

I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at Leo angrily.

"You'd get paid! There are so many lovesick teenagers here! All you'd have to do is take a peek into the mind of your client's crush and tell the person sitting in front of you that their crush hates them. Simple! Or you could tell a girl that her crush is so interested in her that he wants to have 6 babies with her! Oh, that'd be so much _fun_! I want to be there when you're counseling, Percy!"

I thought about it. It couldn't be so bad, right? It's not necessary that all my clients would be girls, right? There are lovesick boys wanting relationship advice in Goode High, too. So there's a little less danger of being suffocated by girls only. And I'd earn some money, just by sitting in front of a desk.

Just as I was about to tell Leo that I'll do the job, the girls' bathroom door, a little farther down the hall, opened and out stepped Annabeth Chase.

A word about Annabeth Chase: _unreadable_. Yes, literally. She has a strong mind and she can actually stop me from reading her mind. When I'm around her, it's like _she stops thinking_. It frustrated me like hell when I first met her in freshman year. But she cannot (exactly) completely block me out. I've learned over these past years that I've known her that when she's excited or emotional, she lets her guard down. There have been times when she didn't notice me being close enough to read her thoughts (I can only read one's mind when he/she is within a ten feet radius) and naturally, she didn't put up her guard, so I read her mind. There were weird things going on in her mind. Half her thoughts were about homework, which gave me a migraine. But the other half of her thoughts were about... architecture. At least, I think it is architecture. She mentally sketches buildings with ultra-fashionable pillars and designed carved ceilings and her mind flashes through monuments, be it New York skyscrapers or ancient historical buildings.

But her extreme liking to architecture is only known by me. To the whole population of high school, THE Annabeth Chase is the star pupil, loved by all teachers, never scored an A- ('cause she's scoring A+ all the time), does homework regularly and isn't interested in boys. Also she isn't that friendly, but she's damn popular. Most people steer clear of her (except her best friends Thalia Grace and Piper McLean), because no one wants to be glared at by Annabeth's _mesmerising_ grey eyes.

Okay, I'll admit it; I have a crush on her. I'm not the only one around who's crushing on her though. She's got pretty blonde princess curls and beautiful stormy grey eyes. I fell in love with her eyes back when I met her...

"Percy!", Leo shook me slightly and I realized I pretty much had been daydreaming about Annabeth, right in front of Leo. Thank god that he cannot read minds, I had been thinking about Annabeth for quite some time.

"So will you do the counseling thing? Don't think too hard, man.", Leo asked.

My eyes flitted to Annabeth, who was inconspicuously closing the door behind her. Did she overhear our conversation? The bathroom wasn't that far and since the hallway was entirely empty (well, except Annabeth, Leo and me), our voices had been echoing off the walls.

Annabeth turned towards Leo and me, and walked straight down the hall, but just as she walked by me, she... spared me a glance. She didn't smile or frown at me, just glanced at me and walked past. Oh god, did I just imagine that? Why would Annabeth _look_ at me?! She doesn't even _talk_ to me!

I tried to read her mind but her guard was up and I came up blank. It's really infuriating that I can't read her mind. It's even more so frustrating because I have a crush on her, and if things were simple, I could've read her mind and found out if she likes me or not.

"Oh, so that's why you went silent", Leo said, in a low voice, "'cause the girl of your dreams just walked by."

"Uhh...", I trailed off, because I didn't really know what to say.

"Dude, why don't you go and tell her that you like her? It'd be so much easier for me and our friends, who have to deal with you spacing out whenever Chase is around. Besides, if you ask her out, it'll put a rest to all those rumors about Chase and you, ever since the scandal. And that way, you'd be one less lovesick teenager in Goode High."

"Leo, don't bring up that scandal ever again", I warned.

What scandal, you ask? Well, last year, in December, we had this play to work on, for our Drama class. And...

 **~Start Of Flashback~**

 **Annabeth was the President of Drama club, and I was just a lazy member. Annabeth never directly gave orders to me; hell, I don't even know if she knows I exist in her drama club. But anyway, the day before 'Grease' was to play in our school auditorium, everyone was super busy, doing last minute (or should I say, last day) chores. And I was given the job to bring out all the required props from the tiny store room, out to the backstage. I had no company because this was a relatively easy job. But it so happened that Annabeth was mutely searching for something in the adjoining room (which was a junk store room, with no space to place your feet, so she was in the doorway which connected the store room I was in and the store room she was in). The actual door of that adjoining room was blocked by several misshapen furniture, so I assumed Annabeth had come in through the store room I was in.**

 **I awkwardly cleared my throat to let her know of my presence. She glanced at me and resumed doing her work. I stood there idly, for a few minutes, contemplating if I should start a conversation. Like always, I couldn't read her mind. So I decided to just do my work and get out of her sight, since she doesn't care about me. But in my absence of mind, I dropped the prop in my hand, on my feet.**

 **"Ow!", I cried in pain, clutching my left foot. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Annabeth dropping whatever was in her hand. She swirled around and saw me sitting on a crate, clutching my foot and muttering curses.**

 **"Percy!", she exclaimed and rushed to me.**

 **"I'm okay, I'm okay! I just dropped a rod on my foot", I told her.**

 **She raised her arm as if about to touch me, but then she gritted her teeth and stormed out of the room.**

 **I frowned at her for a second but then went back to cursing because of the pain. I blew air on my foot which seemed stupid because the air wouldn't reach my foot. But I didn't know what to do; hell, I could barely see anything with my eyes watering.**

 **A minute later, a blurry figure came in through the open door. I blinked several times to see Annabeth standing in front of me, cringing at the sight of me in pain. She silently knelt down beside me and placed an ice pack on my hurting foot.**

 **I blinked through my tears again, so that I could see her properly. Her blonde princess curls were hanging out from her messy ponytail, her locks framing her face. She was wearing blue jeans and the Drama Club black t-shirt. But she looked so beautiful that I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. I kept on staring at her and at some point, Annabeth had looked up at me. I stared at her beautiful intriguing grey eyes and she stared back at me.**

 **We didn't notice the door inching close until it slammed shut, bringing Annabeth and I out of our reverie. We snapped into reality and looked simultaneously at the closed door.**

 ** _'Oh no! The door is automatic lock programmed! And it can only be opened from outside! I can't believe I am locked in this room! And with...'_ , I heard Annabeth thinking. Then she seemed to remember me, sitting in front of her, and I could feel her mental guard going up. I frowned at her, why does she keep doing that? It's like she's challenging me to read her mind and then preventing me! Yes, I have such a big crush on her but she's just so... challenging.**

 **Keeping my inner turmoil inside, I said, "We're... locked in. What do we do?"**

 **Annabeth looked away from me, still holding the ice pack. "Hold this", she said, not meeting my eyes. How rude! She doesn't even look at me! What's wrong with her? Or more importantly, what's wrong with me?**

 **I gritted my teeth at her rudeness and held the ice pack to my foot. Annabeth got up from the ground and started looking around. At first, she banged on the door, shouting out for help. When no one came, she resorted to tug open the door. She must have been focusing hard on getting the door to open, because I could read her mind.**

 ** _'I knew this wouldn't work. Stupid Annabeth! A door programmed for auto-lock obviously won't open from the inside. And the key's still in the keyhole outside. There's no way I can leave through this door. Think, Annabeth, think. Find another exit! I can't stay locked in here! And Percy's here too! Oh no, is he hearing my...'_**

 **And just like that, I couldn't read Annabeth's mind any longer. She turned to look at me and then gritted her teeth and said, "Do you have your phone? We can call someone and ask them to get us out."**

 **My first thought: _That's probably the longest sentence she's spoke to me._ But I shook my head, telling her that I had left my phone in my locker.**

 **Annabeth's eyebrows scrunched up and she looked away from me. She started looking around the room. She was probably looking for an exit, like she was thinking before. I stood up to help her but she said hurriedly, "You sit there, don't move, you have a bruised foot. I'll.. I'll look for an exit."**

 **"My foot isn't that bad. Its hurting only a little now. Let me help you", I told her.**

 **She hesitated but then nodded silently, and walked to the adjoining room's doorway. She started pushing away the crates to make a way. I guessed that she was making a way to the door of the junk store room. I limped to her and started helping her.**

 **We worked silently for a while. There were no words exchanged between us.**

 **When we were halfway through the room clearing a path, I picked up another heavy wooden crate and just as I was about to stack it on top of a iron bookshelf, it slipped from my grasp and dropped onto my foot. Left foot, to be precise; yes, on the same foot which was already bruised.**

 **"Ouch! Oh shit!"**

 **Annabeth turned on her heel, dropping the purple drapes in her arms in the process and took in the sight of me. I made a grab for my foot but lost my balance. I was about to fall when Annabeth grabbed my arms and steadied me. She led me to a wooden ladder, a few steps away and made me sit down on one of the rungs.**

 **"You hurt your foot again?! The same foot! I told you to sit down in the other room and not help me, didn't I? When are you going to start listening to me? You're always ignoring me!", she scolded.**

 **"What? I'm always ignoring you? You never even talk to me!", I retorted.**

 **"Percy, after you gained your stupid mind-reading powers, you don't even talk to me! It's like you don't even remember me!", she shouted at me.**

 **"What are you even talking about, Annabeth?!"**

 **And then something weird happened. I... I saw Annabeth's memory flash in front of my eyes.**

 ** _I was lying on a hospital bed. I looked about fifteen and my hair was shaggy and uncombed. My head was bandaged and there was ointment on several places on my face, neck and arms._**

 ** _Beside me, on a stool, sat Annabeth. I could tell it was her but she looked different. Her blonde hair was braided down her back and her princess curls were framing her face. She looked about fifteen too, but her eyes were puffed out and red. Though she wasn't crying currently, I could tell that she had been crying a lot previously._**

 ** _Annabeth was holding my hand in hers, stroking my back of the palm. She started speaking to the unconscious me, "Percy, when are you going to wake up? I've been waiting so long for you to open those beautiful amazing sea-green eyes. It's been four weeks, Percy. Four weeks today, since you've gone into coma. Come back to me, you said you'll be fine." Her voice quavered._**

 ** _"I miss you so much, Percy. I can't bear to live without you. Come back", she said and burst out into tears. I wanted to go comfort her but this was only a memory. It was like watching a 3D movie, my movements wouldn't matter._**

 **And just like that, I snapped into the present.**

 **Annabeth was standing in front of me, glaring angrily. I wanted to ask her about what she just showed me. But just as I was about to open my mouth, a tear slipped out of her eye and rolled down her cheek.**

 **Seeing Annabeth cry in real life was... frightening. You see, Annabeth _never_ cries. It was one thing seeing her cry in a memory but in the present, I didn't know what to do. Should I comfort her or ask her what's wrong?**

 **"Nothing. I'm talking about nothing", she angrily wiped her tear away, "Let's just pretend this never happened. That won't be too hard for you, right? You're so good at pretending like you don't know me."**

 **I was about to ask her if she had gone crazy but she stomped away.**

 **I leaned against the upper rung of the ladder, dumbfounded. Annabeth knew me when I was fifteen? But I don't remember her.**

 **Annabeth didn't tend to my foot, she came back and just dropped the ice pack beside me, on the ground. She then went back to making a path to the door of this junk store room. Without me.**

 **I sat silently, contemplating if I should ask her about that memory she showed me. Was that even real? I'm pretty sure I had never known her, before I met her in the freshman year. But now that I thought about it, I had always thought Annabeth looked familiar.**

 **After some time, I got back to stacking up the junk to make a path. We worked silently, side by side. Annabeth didn't meet my eyes. When we finally reached the door, Annabeth put her hand on the door handle and yanked on it.**

 **It didn't open.**

 **"Is it jammed?", I asked her and she gave a sharp nod in reply.**

 **I frowned at her and then at the door. When she gave up trying to get it to open, I tried my hand at it too. But it was all in vain, as the door wouldn't budge. Then I banged on the door with my fists, shouting for help.**

 **After a minute or two, I gave up. I limped back to the ladder and took a seat on one of its rungs.**

 **"What do we do now?", I asked Annabeth hesitantly.**

 **She bit her lip, "It's been well over an hour now. Somebody will come looking for us." She sat down at the doorway, joining the two store rooms, leaning against the door frame.**

 **I nodded, "My friends didn't know that I had been working in the store room today, though."**

 **Her eyes widened, "Neither do my friends! Oh god, they won't have any idea where to start looking! Nobody will find us!"**

 **"But you're the leader of the club. The others will notice us missing. They know you came to the store room, right?"**

 **"No, they don't.I-I didn't tell anyone, I was in a hurry."**

 **"What?! Let me get this straight, neither our friends nor the members know where we are. What if they think we went home or something? They won't even look for us!"**

 **"I never leave until everybody in the club leaves. Everyone knows that. And I left my bag backstage.", she said calmly, but I could tell she was starting to feel afraid too.**

 **I gritted my teeth, about to tell her that she didn't need to act calm, but resorted to a quiet "Okay".**

 **There wasn't a single word exchanged between us, after that.**

 **Every few minutes, either Annabeth or I would get up and bang on the door, shouting for help. But no one came.**

 **Every now and then, could hear Annabeth's thoughts.**

 ** _'This hallway is so far away from the backstage. That's why no one can hear us shouting. And nobody even comes down this hallway. Oh god, dad must be worrying so much about me... No, he wouldn't even had noticed that I was not home yet. But Thalia must've called him and asked about my whereabouts. Oh no, Thalia and Piper! They'll be worried out of their minds. And if someone can put two and two together, they can make out that since both Percy and I are missing, we must be together.'_**

 **And then, she noticed me staring at her and immediately her guard went up, and I couldn't read her mind any more.**

 **Gradually, time passed and it became dark outside. There was no window in either of the rooms but we could see darkness seep in through the ventilators.**

 **We had been locked in for over three hours, when we heard many loud voices outside in the hallway.**

 **Both Annabeth and I immediately sprang up and ran towards the door in the legit store room (well, I limped rather than ran). Annabeth reached the door before me and started banging on it, "Someone open this door! We're locked in here!"**

 **I added, "Help us! Get us out of here!"**

 **A disarray of voices responded, "ANNABETH! It's Annabeth!" and "Percy! My son is in there! Open that door!" were the most prominent.**

 **A second later, the lock clicked and the door opened. Bright light infiltrated the room and blinded me for a moment. I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around me.**

 **"Oh Percy! My baby, are you okay?"**

 **I immediately hugged her back, burying my head in her shoulder.**

 **"Yeah, mom, I'm okay", I answered and she sobbed silently on my shoulder.**

 **I looked around to find Jason and Leo standing behind my mom. Beside them was our Principal, Mr. Jones and our English teacher, Mr. Blofis. The watchman was also with them.**

 **A little far away, Annabeth was wrapped in an embrace with Thalia and Piper. She was telling them that she was fine and Piper was sobbing, like my mom.**

 **When Annabeth started narrating how we had gotten locked in, I took the time to read everyone's mind.**

 ** _'A male student and a female student were locked in, for over three hours. Oh god, if this news gets out, my school's reputation will be ruined!'_ , Mr. Jones rubbed his chin thoughtfully.**

 ** _'I hope both Mr. Jackson and Miss Chase didn't do anything they'd regret. Their reputations are at stake here. I hope they didn't... Oh boy, there will be so many rumors'_ , Mr. Blofis cast worried glances at Annabeth and me, alternatively.**

 **The watchman was wondering when he'd be able to return to his post and take a nap.**

 **Jason and Leo's thoughts were similar; they were simultaneously thanking the gods and depreciating themselves as friends ( _'What a friend I am! I didn't even know where Percy was!'_ ). I'll have to talk to them later.**

 **Piper was mournful and thinking, _'If only I had asked Annabeth where she had been going, then I would have known she was here and she wouldn't have to be locked in for so long! Annabeth doesn't deserve a stupid friend like me!_ '**

 **Thalia's thoughts were... off topic, to say the least. _'She had to endure him for so many hours. These past few years have been so hard for Annabeth already, and now this. Oh god, I hope this doesn't take its toll on her.'_**

 **ENDURE me? If anything, I had to put up with Annabeth's rudeness and endure her!**

 **But mom's thoughts were the weirdest; _'Oh poor Annabeth. She was in Percy's presence for hours. It must have been so difficult for her, being near him and having to hold a conversation with him. I hope she's okay.'_**

 **She was thinking about Annabeth and not her son. So being the jealous person I am, I frowned at my mom.**

 **When my mom felt my eyes on her, she realized I had been reading her mind. Annabeth had finished telling everyone how we had been locked in. Mr. Blofis cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I think we should get going. The children must be thirsty and tired. If any issue comes out of this, I'm sure Mr. Jones will handle it. Good night to you all."**

 **My mom took my hand and smiled warmly at me, "Come on, Percy, let's go home. I know you don't like being in school, any longer than necessary."**

 **~End Of Flashback~**

"Okay, man, chill out", Leo said, "But would you do the counseling thing? Will you be the counselor? Please, buddy. I'll owe you one."

I pretended to think for a while and then said, "Okay, I'll do it, Leo", I paused for dramatic effect, "But on one condition."

Leo pouted at me, which kinda made his face look distorted.

"What now, Percy?"

"Stop calling me a counselor. I'll be giving", I put on a solemn face, "relationship advice. So I want to be called an advisor."

 _'The guy who fails in English loves to be dramatic. Go figure'_ , Leo thought.

"Deal, Mr. ADVISOR."

* * *

 **A/N: There will be another chapter and an epilogue, if I feel like it. Originally, I didn't even plan to write that enormous flashback. But this is 4k+ and the longest I've ever written.**

 **Leave a review! If you're confused about something, I'll clear it up.**

 **Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **Hey, guys. I planned on writing a 6,000 words chapter and posting it but I couldn't cover all the significant stuff in 6,000 words. As of now, I have 5,000 words written (excluding this chapter), but I still haven't managed to cover the whole plot. I didn't want to post a 10,000 words long chapter all together and make y'all wait another month, so I'm posting this.**

 **Also, the dates in Percy's binder are in the MM/DD/YYYY format.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Percy Jackson And The Olympians or else I wouldn't be writing** ** _fanfiction_** **.**

* * *

I spent the weekend being lazy and locked up in my room. And well, thinking of Annabeth.

Currently, I was spread out on my bed, picking at my blue comforter. My binder was lying open in front of me; the page turned to the one titlted 'Annabeth Chase'.

My binder is precious to me because it contains hand-written (by me, of course) profiles of each and every person I'm acquainted with. On each new page, I have the name of a person written in bold at the top. Then the first line is about their age and appearance. What follows is what I know about them by conversation and by reading their mind, in points.

Call me crazy but this actually helps me ease my mind. When I had just discovered my mind-reading powers, I felt disoriented when my brain not only had to accumulate my thoughts but also other people's thoughts. I had a headache every single day and I felt like I was going crazy. At that time, my childhood best friend Grover Underwood brought me this binder and told me to write off what I find out by reading other's minds. Every two or three hours, I'd sit down and make profiles of people. Once I got accustomed to reading minds subconsciously, I only had to write in my binder once a day, preferably at the end of the day, just like writing a journal, except these were profiles and I knew a person better by reading their mind.

Back to the problem: I knew so less about Annabeth. But she always made it seem like she knows so much about me. I had opened the page containing Annabeth's profile to add in the sideways glance she gave me in the school hallway, yesterday.

Then I went through the short list of things I knew about Annabeth:

 _1) [10/04/2014] I CAN'T READ HER MIND. SHE PUTS UP A MENTAL WALL WHENEVER SHE'S AROUND ME. IT'S LIKE SHE STOPS THINKING._

 _2) [10/06/2014] She is always rude to me. It's almost like she holds a grudge against me!_

 _3) [10/27/2014] She is beautiful. Her eyes are so amazing._

 _4) [12/09/2014] Only hangs out with_ _Thalia Grace_ _and_ _Piper McLean_ _(her best friends)._

 _5) [02/19/2015] Excels in_ _ **all**_ _her classes. She is the ultimate genius. Loved by all the teachers._

 _6) [10/21/2015] Woah! Wait up, I can read her mind! She was upset today because_ _Drew Tanaka_ _called her a dyke because Annabeth hasn't dated anyone yet (and doesn't even feel remotely attracted to any guy) and she hangs out with Thalia (who is a butch). Half the class in Homeroom started making fun of her; and she was as red as a tomato from embarrassment and anger. I could read her thoughts right then and there!_

 _7) [12/06/2015] I read Annabeth's mind for straight ten minutes today! She was thinking about... architecture. At least, I think it is architecture. She mentally sketches buildings with ultra-fashionable pillars and designed carved ceilings and her mind flashes through monuments, be it New York skyscrapers or ancient historical buildings. So, she's got a thing for architecture._

 _8) [01/17/2016] Annabeth and I ran into each other at the cafeteria today. I accidentally dropped my drink on her shirt and she looked upset, instead of being angry. Maybe it was her favorite shirt? (I have a feeling it was more than that though; it was as if she was reminded of an accident where someone had dropped their drink on her.)_

 _9) [12/03/2016] Today, Annabeth and I got locked in the school store room. TOGETHER. She tended to my foot (on which I had stupidly dropped something heavy) and ignored me for the most part. But we had this one moment when we both were just staring into each other's eyes and I think it was romantic...? But then I read Annabeth's mind, about two or three times, and she_ _ **showed**_ _me this_ _ **memory**_ _of hers, where I was lying in a hospital bed and Annabeth was crying and asking me to wake up. But I hadn't ever been that bruised up to land up in a hospital! And how did she know me when I was fifteen?! I don't remember her! I'm so confused now._

 _10) [12/04/2016] Today, there were so many rumors about Annabeth and me... I swear, people were more interested in the new rumor than in the 'Grease' that was playing. People were thinking that Annabeth and I hooked up... Jason, Leo, Hazel and Frank tried their best to shield me from all this attention but I was busy with last minute work for the play and none of my friends were in the drama club. So I had to fend for myself. I wanted to talk to Annabeth about how these rumors were affecting us and we should maybe make an announcement or something that we did not hook up. But I did not approach her because she was too busy and she would immediately leave a room I just walked in._

 _11) [12/20/2016] It's been over a week since the... well, scandal. Annabeth is ignoring me solidly and the rumors are still around. Today, Piper came over and said to me that Annabeth wanted to tell me that she'll handle the rumors, I shouldn't try anything to help the situation and make it worse instead. I asked Piper why Annabeth hadn't come herself, and Piper said that Annabeth didn't want to risk being seen with me. I don't know if I should be disappointed that my crush doesn't want to come near me or if I should be angry that she is ignoring me rudely._

 _12) [02/10/2017] Annabeth passed by me in the hallway today and she looked at me. Admittedly, it was a passing glance but come on, MY CRUSH LOOKED AT ME._

I had added the last point back on Friday. Now, I was grumpily wondering why Annabeth was sending mixed signals. I don't even know if I should hate her for making me so confused or if I should continue crushing on her.

"Percy! Come downstairs! Look who's here to meet you!", my mom's voice brought me out of my reverie.

Who would come to meet me the day before Valentine's Day? Oh God, I hope its not some girl who likes me and wants me to be her Valentine tomorrow.

"Yes, mom, I'll be down in a minute!", I replied and with a final frown at my binder, I closed it and went out of my room.

As soon as I reached downstairs, I heard an excited "BROTHER!" and was engulfed in a massive bear hug and I immediately knew who it was.

"Tyson! What are you doing here!", I exclaimed.

When he pulled back, his big brown eyes sparkled with happiness, "Tyson came to meet Percy and Mommy! Grover brought him here!"

Tyson is my half-brother; my dad's illegitimate son who was dropped off when he was a baby, at my dad's doorstep. Dad guessed that Tyson was the result of the one night stand (when dad had gotten drunk), but dad didn't want to push off the responsibilities of raising a child on Tyson's mother. Dad was in college back then and hadn't even met my mom. Tyson was basically the reason that my mom fell in love with dad. Tyson was three-years-old, when mom got acquainted with dad. Mom loved how much of a good father he was; what with raising a kid single-handedly, working to pay the bills and also pursuing further studies to become a scientist. So she married him, knowing fully well that the man she was marrying had a misbegotten child. Yeah, my mom has a big heart.

When Tyson was six, my parents found out that he had a mental condition, due to which Tyson's thinking will be like a child's for all his life but he'll physically grow up just like a normal person. So basically, a child's mind in a 21 year-old man.

Tyson lived with us till he turned eighteen. Then, due to his deteriorating health, we had to send him away to Massachusetts. Luckily, Grover was attending Harvard there, so he generously took in Tyson and shared an apartment with him. Tyson comes to visit whenever Grover has a little time on his hands. They visit every few months and stay a day or two, mostly.

"Yeah, the big guy here wouldn't stop jumping the whole ride", I heard Grover's voice, with a chuckle. Once Grover came into view, I pulled him into a hug and he patted my back.

"Long time no see, G-man", I told him, as I pulled back.

"Yeah. It's been a hard semester. But I'm glad to see you, Perce."

I grinned at him. Grover Underwood has been my best friend since childhood. Though he was three years older than me, we had been together for as long as I can remember. He was tall yet lanky, with Caucasian skin, curly brown hair, brown eyes and a wispy beard.

"Mommy's making cookies! I can smell it!", Tyson yelled gleefully and ran to the kitchen.

I led Grover to the couch and we sat down. I asked him about his life and he asked me how I was doing in school. After a little conversation, I asked him, "Tell me truthfully, Grover. You're here to meet Juniper for Valentine's Day, right?". I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively for good measure.

Juniper was Grover's girlfriend of three years, who studied at NYU and lived in New York.

Grover effectively blushed, "Yeah, you guessed it. And today's Juniper's birthday, so I'll be spending the evening with her."

"Hey, that's great. Wish her happy birthday from me too!"

"Sure, Percy. And that reminds me, did you get a Valentine for yourself?"

I really don't know why but my mind wandered to Annabeth.

Grover immediately said, "What? Why are you so confused right now?"

Oh, another thing about Grover: he and I have an empathy link. So basically, Grover and I could sense each other's emotions. Sometimes, we could even figure out what the other is thinking, if we try hard enough. It's not the same as my mind-reading powers though.

Back when I had gained my powers in that massive accident, when I was fifteen, Grover had been effected too. Our guess was that since Grover was in the building at the time of the fire, he had been affected by the radiation caused by those supernatural chemicals in the laboratory. And maybe Grover had been thinking of me or something, so he developed the empathy link.

"Uhh... I'm confused about my feelings for this girl in my year. I have a crush on her, but she keeps ignoring me as if she finds me offensive. When you asked me if I have a Valentine for tomorrow, which I don't, I thought of her", I knew it was pointless to hide anything from Grover. He was my best friend, and even without the empathy link, he would've known I had been lying.

"Oh. Do I know her?", Grover asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, actually you do. Annabeth Chase", I answered.

I heard something (most likely an utensil) drop on the floor in the kitchen. My mom had dropped something. Oh god, I hope its not the cookie batter.

I leaned forward so I could see mom in the kitchen.

Her mouth was hanging open a little and she looked shocked. She was staring in my direction. "Mom", I called out, "are you okay?"

She pulled herself together and said, "Yeah. Yeah, Percy. I'm... I'm okay. Just got surprised by how hot this was." She smiled at me, but I could tell it was somewhat fake.

Tyson frowned at her, "But the soup is not hot, mommy. Tyson tasted it."

My mom suddenly excused herself and went to the washroom.

I frowned at her retreating form and made a mental note to talk to her later. I turned back to Grover, only to find him staring at the tea table in front of us thoughtfully.

"Grover, you okay?", I asked him. Why were mom and Grover acting weird? And that too, right after I mentioned Annabeth...

Annabeth. Maybe she has some connection to Grover and mom. I mean, Grover knows Annabeth because he had studied in Goode High. I never really saw them talking but I know Grover knows who Annabeth is. As for my mom, she had met Annabeth for the first time on that fateful day when Annabeth and I had been locked in together.

Suddenly, I recalled reading my mom's thoughts back when she saw Annabeth that day.

 _'Oh poor Annabeth. She was in Percy's presence for hours. It must have been so difficult for her, being near him and having to hold a conversation with him. I hope she's okay.'_

At that time, I was tired and too preoccupied, to think of my mom's odd thoughts. I vaguely remember being jealous and not questioning her about it. The way mom thought that, it hints that she knew Annabeth beforehand. And also, mom made it sound like I was the horrible person and not Annabeth (who is infinitely rude to me).

Seems like I'll definitely have to talk to her.

"Yeah, Percy, I was just thinking. Hey Tyson! How about we three play catch?", Grover said. I could tell he was switching topics. I eyed him suspiciously and was about to ask him when Tyson clapped his hands, yelling, "YAY!"

Seems like this will have to wait too.

* * *

 _"No, Percy, let me come with you!"_

 _I heard a female voice address me but I couldn't spot anyone. There was an uneven white mist spread all around me, leaving me without a clue as to where the voice was coming from. I heard my voice reply to the girl but I couldn't make out exactly what I had said. I caught snippets of: "I'll be back in a minute!... Nothing will happen to me... I'll be fine."_

 _There were many other voices; all shouting and screaming. And I wanted to clutch my head due to the many loud voices._

 _Then I heard her voice again._

 _"Be careful, Seaweed Brain."_

My eyes shot open and I pulled myself in a sitting position on the bed. I tried to get out of the bed but found that I was unable to do so because my sheets were jumbled around my legs. The second thing I noticed was that I was sweating excessively, yet I could feel the cool breeze sweep in through the open window.

I ran my hands through my disheveled hair, wondering what the dream meant. I wondered this every time I dreamt about **her**.

I had no idea who this girl was but she keeps appearing in my dreams. It was not always the same perspective through which I saw her, every time. Sometimes I'd only get to see her curly blonde hair tucked under a New York Yankees cap. Sometimes I'd only see her hands grabbing mine or her back, when she's walking away from me Sometimes I could only listen to her voice, calling out my name or that silly little nickname- 'Seaweed Brain'. Most of the times I could view a conversation- me and her talking (which is weird because _I don't know her_ ). But I never saw her face.

I've been having these dreams ever since I got my mind-reading powers. At first, these dreams were very rare. But this past year, the dreams have become frequent. I wanted to talk to someone about this but I knew no one could help me through it. Not even my mom or Grover.

I swiped the sweat off my forehead and glanced at the digital clock on my bedside table. It read 06:18. Oh well, I was up a little early but I probably wouldn't be able to sleep even if I tried to. After I untangled myself from the sheets, I got out of bed and did my daily chores.

It took me more than half-an-hour to get downstairs, all dressed up for school with my bag.

"Good morning, mom. And happy Valentine's Day", I greeted my mom and kissed her cheek, when I found her in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Percy. And happy Valentine's Day to you too", she smiled warmly at me, while slicing some tomatoes.

"What's for breakfast? Sandwiches?", I asked, setting up the table while mom prepared my breakfast.

"You guessed it. And where is Tyson?"

"He's asleep. We stayed up a little late last night and he doesn't have to go to school like me, so he can sleep all he wants."

My mom gave me a reprimanding look for indirectly bad-mouthing my school and said, "I'll see that Tyson wakes up by nine. Or maybe the smell of food will bring him here."

I laughed along with her, "Yeah, that guy can smell food from far! Like yesterday, when you were baking cookies!"

My mom's smile dropped a little and she came around the kitchen counter and placed a sandwich on my plate.

"Mom", I spoke before she could return back to the kitchen.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you... do you know Annabeth Chase?"

My mom inhaled sharply and said, "Why do you ask?"

There was no point in hiding things from my mom. So I told her what was bothering me, "Yesterday when I told Grover that I had a crush on Annabeth, you seemed shocked when hearing her name. And I spent the whole day yesterday thinking that when Annabeth and I had gotten locked in, that day in December, and you and the others came to rescue us, you were... thinking about Annabeth. I remember your thoughts being like 'Poor Annabeth. It must have been so difficult for her to be in Percy's presence for hours.' It was like, you knew her..."

My mom's face hardened, "Yes, I knew Annabeth beforehand. I'm not going to deny it. I knew this day would come. I'll explain everything to you, Percy."

She ruffled my hair affectionately, "I'll tell you when you come back from school. Since Grover's here, it would be a lot easier for you to understand. But now, eat your sandwich and go to school, okay? We'll talk in the evening, I promise."

She kissed me on my forehead and went upstairs. I frowned at her back, wondering what on hell was that complicated that mom was worried.

Well, I'll be finding out in the evening. I just have to survive the day at school... and Valentine's Day.

* * *

 **A/N: This was kinda a filler chapter. Sally and Grover are important for this story but Tyson most likely won't be appearing again. I didn't even plan on introducing Tyson! Something I'd like to address: I'm worried that Percy is OOC in this. I try to make him a bit awkward and slow, like Rick does but Percy's also smart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived two wars, duh. Tell me your thoughts in the reviews!**

 **The next chapter will probably be posted by the end of April. Even though I have half the chapter written, there's still a lot more to write.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! Read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I threw in a little Jasper, if you ship it! Also, I think I got Thalia wrong. Re-reading it made me think that it was Clarisse La Rue and not Thalia. Minus the massive insults, of course.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson And The Olympians or else I wouldn't be writing _fanfiction._**

* * *

"Percy!", Leo cried out, "Thank God you're here, man! I thought you ditched me!"

Right after school got over at two-thirty, I had headed out to grab a warm coffee at the Starbucks, few blocks away. I could feel an impending headache so I thought something warm would help. I had probably been gone for only twenty minutes. I mentally rolled my eyes; leave it to Leo to overreact.

"I went to buy myself a coffee, Leo. It's just been twenty minutes."

"Okay, okay. We haven't started yet though. Frank and Hazel are at that room in the end of the locker hallways, collecting names of those who'll be your clients and Jason is setting up the stuff."

"Setting up what stuff?", I said, frowning at him, "All I'd need is a desk and two chairs."

Leo tsked at me, "No, dear Percy, you're being an advisor. We need red balloons and white streamers and a big chandelier with hearts. And you need to wear a suit."

I looked at him incredulously and he said, "Okay, I was kidding. Jason is actually just putting up the banner and we've already cleared out the school Drama Club room. Like, we got rid of the desks and chairs, and only kept a few chairs and a desk."

"Oh-kay, but what does the banner say?", I asked him.

Leo spread out his arms as if unravelling a huge banner, "Relationship Advisor, Percy Jackson- Find out if your crush likes you back!"

"Leo, that's really... lame", I deadpanned.

"What? No, it's pretty awesome! Also, Hazel and I spend quite much of our time making that banner, so appreciate it!"

"Alright, alright."

"Oh, and I'll be with you, the whole time, managing the whole thing. Hazel'll give me a list of the people who booked an appointment and I'll be sending out for those, serially."

"Dude, you make it sound like it's a big deal", I complained.

Leo stopped in his tracks and put a hand on my shoulder, "Perce, it IS a big deal." _'Since you'll be treating us with all those dollars you'll earn today'_ , Leo added in his thoughts.

I glared at him and he shrugged with a smirk, as we reached the Drama Club room. I pushed open the door smoothly and found... Piper McLean in Jason's arms.

With their faces inches apart.

They were romantically staring into each other's eyes. Piper was in Jason's arms bridal-style and he was standing in front of a ladder. Leo and I exchanged mischievous glances and smirked as I heard his thoughts. A second later, together, we shouted, "YO, JASON!"

Jason was taken by surprise and he dropped Piper on the floor. Piper let out an indignant huff and quickly got up from the floor. Upon noticing Leo and me in the room, they both started blushing.

"What'cha doin'?", Leo asked them, grinning.

"What- we- I- she fell- we- I caught her- yeah, that's it", Jason stammered, gesticulating wildly.

I laughed at his expense, "Yeah, Jason, we totally understood what you said."

He grew even more red in the face, until he looked like a raspberry with blonde hair. Piper saved him from any more embarrassment, "I fell from the ladder- my foot slipped. So, Jason caught me."

"Okay, Beauty Queen. We'll let you off the hook", Leo smirked.

 _'Oh God, these two had to interrupt at the wrong time!'_ , I heard Piper thinking.

 _'I hope Piper isn't mad at me or thinks that I tried to make a move on her. I hope Leo doesn't tease me anymore. I hope Percy isn't reading my thoughts right now. Oh shit'_ , I almost laughed after hearing Jason's thoughts.

"Do not call me 'Beauty Queen', Valdez. I won the pageant last year by accident", Piper said, half-heartedly and left the room, acting nonchalantly.

Leo and I rushed over to Jason and clapped him on the back.

"Dude, we knew that you liked her but now you got her in your arms! On Valentine's Day! It's destiny calling you!", Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, you finally made a move on her! Did you kiss her?", I asked.

Jason looked ashamed, "Er, no. I was paralysed in surprise that she was suddenly in my arms. I didn't make any move on her." _'Instead, I think Piper was leaning in...'_ , he thought.

"Your faces were like inches apart, man. And I read her thoughts, she was unhappy that Leo and I interrupted at the 'wrong time'", I told Jason, making air quotes on 'wrong time'.

"What does that mean?", Jason said, dubiously, "Does Piper like me too?"

"Yeah, I think so. I think she wanted to kiss you", I said, propping my elbow on Jason's shoulder.

"But why would she kiss Jason? Doesn't she know I'm single?", Leo joked, flipping his non-existent long hair.

"Well, maybe she's got a thing for blondes", I laughed, ruffling Jason's blonde hair.

"Maybe Piper's not the only one who's got a thing for blondes. Right, Perce?", Jason said, smirking. _'Thank God, the joke is not on me, now'_ , Jason thought.

I knew the joke was on **me** , now. They were talking about my not-so-subtle crush on blonde-haired Annabeth.

"Oh, shut up, you two", I muttered, retracting my propped elbow.

"Aw, look, Percy's blushing", Leo squealed, imitating a girl and the two of them started laughing.

Hazel came to my rescue.

Hazel Levesque is African-American with shoulder-length curly cinnamon brown hair and gold eyes. She is bright and outgoing with a love for creativity and horseback riding though she is admittedly a little reserved. She was only a freshman and the youngest among my friends. She was also the only girl in my friend circle and like a sister to me. Hazel became one of my closest friends when Frank started dating her and I always go to her when I need some optimism in my life.

"Guys, we're ready. We should begin", Hazel said, ignoring how red in the face I was. Jason and Leo stopped laughing.

She handed Leo a list, "Leo, that's the list of names. I have a copy too. There's about forty people out there, mostly girls but a few boys too. I think we'll not be having any more clients, but if we do, I'll add it to the list and notify you, Leo. Now, Jason, come on, let's go outside. Frank is alone out there. Percy, I'll be sending the first person in a minute. Get settled."

Leo, Jason and I nodded, and Hazel wished me luck for what was to come. Just when Hazel and Jason were at the door, I said, "Oh, Hazel, do ask Jason if he's okay after almost kissing Piper."

 _'Percy Jackson, you did **not** just do that'_ , I heard Jason threatened me in his thoughts and I had to stifle a laugh.

 _'Oh schist, now he's gonna get a lecture about how you shouldn't kiss a girl until at least two dates, from Hazel'_ , Leo was thinking.

Hazel's eyes widened and she looked at Jason, "You kissed Piper? When did this happen?!"

"Nuh uh, Hazel, the keyword is 'almost'! I'm sure Jason will tell you the rest", Leo said.

"You better, Jason", Hazel said, dragging him out just before Jason managed a 'I'll-kill-you-both' look at Leo and me.

Right after the door shut, Leo and I high-fived each other, laughing our asses off.

* * *

"Next", I heard Leo call out from the door.

"How many more, Leo? I've been here for two hours", I said, tiredly.

Leo looked at me sympathetically and answered, "About ten more." I nodded, heaving a sigh to let him know that I acknowledged him.

The next person to come in for relationship advice was... Thalia Grace. Leo quietly shut the door behind him, leaving only Thalia and me in the room.

Thalia is the punk butch best friend of Annabeth. I heard that they are really close, hence that rumor of Annabeth and Thalia being lesbians. Anyway, the weird thing was that Thalia didn't date anyone - it was like she was _sworn off boys._ She looked disgusted by boys in general and is well known in Goode High for beating up boys who annoy her. With her black hair with blue and silver streaks, she is hard to miss.

"Thalia", I greeted her with a nod, since we weren't really friends- not even acquaintances.

"Jackson", she nodded back at me and took a seat opposite me.

 _'Oh God, this is gonna turn out so badly'_ , I read her thoughts.

I cleared my throat and asked her, "So, what do you want my help on?"

"Listen, let me tell you this real quick before you freakin' start reading my mind- I have a crush on Luke Castellan and I want to know if I can or should pursue him", she told me in one breath.

I'm pretty sure my eyebrows were raised so high that it disappeared behind my hairline.

"I thought... uh, everyone thinks that you are a lesbian", I said, dumb with astonishment.

"Well, newsflash, Percy, I'm not a lesbian. Or aromantic, since I know that rumor's been going around as well."

I blinked, "... okay."

"So, are you gonna tell me if Luke likes me or...?", she let the sentence hang in the air.

"Yeah. Uh, you mean Luke Castellan, senior, captain of the basketball team? The one who keeps flirting with you and you keep punching him and I think you've broken his nose, like, twice?", I said.

Luke is one of the jocks in Goode High. But he isn't a bad boy. He is probably the most popular person in school because he has won quite a lot of trophies for our school and he has good grades. He's a favorite of many teachers as well as our Principal. Also, he has that charming attitude which makes me think that he's faking the whole 'nice guy' act.

"Yes, doofus, that Luke Castellan. And get your facts straight: I've broken his nose thrice", she said, coolly.

I swallowed, "Okay... Uh, the couple of times I've read Luke's mind, I find he's always thinking about basketball or how to pull a prank. And uh, I think he is fond of you, hence all the encounters you've had. Um, I think you should pursue him."

Thalia stared at me, "So you're gon' tell me to ask out a guy in, what, five sentences? Really?"

I didn't want to get in trouble with Thalia just because she wasn't pleased with my answer. "Well, this one time, I heard Luke thinking that you looked good in one of the black leather jacket with spikes on the arms, which you've worn only a few times. Uh, I think he likes you. He keeps looking for ways to make you notice him. So he picks on you or annoys you, so that, at least you'll hold a conversation with him. Yeah, now that I think about it, he definitely likes you", I concluded.

Maybe it was my imagination but I thought I saw Thalia blush. _'Luke likes that jacket? I'm gonna have to find it; I don't even remember where it is'_ , she wondered.

Thalia looked me in the eye as if gauging whether I was telling the truth or making it up. Then, she abruptly stood up from the chair, startling me a little. She fished out a dollar from her jeans pocket and smashed it through the opening in the lid of the jar where my other advice-seekers aka clients were putting in their dollars for my services.

"'Kay then. Thanks, Percy", Thalia said and started walking to the door.

I watched as she put her hand on the doorknob and right before she'd open the door, she turned her head back and said, "Since I don't like owing someone, I'm going to give you a favor in return. You helped me out with my crush, so I'll be helping you out with yours."

She bore her electric blue eyes into mine, "Percy, Annabeth loves you. Talk things out with her before she's even more heartbroken."

And with that little piece of cryptic 'favor', Thalia opened the door and stepped out of the room, leaving me reeling with my thoughts.

Annabeth _loves_ me? Was Thalia exaggerating? You could _like_ someone in high school but _love_? I mean, come on, Annabeth's only seventeen! No one falls in love at seventeen! We're all too young to fall in love. Annabeth doesn't even talk to me. How do you love someone with whom you haven't held a proper conversation? And Annabeth is always so rude to me. If she 'loves' or even remotely _likes_ me, why is she always ignoring me? That seems so hypocritical of her.

A few seconds later, Leo peeked in through the door and said, "Dude, does Thalia really have a crush on someone? Isn't she aromantic?"

Upon noticing the conflicted emotions expressed on my face, he lowered his voice, "You okay, Percy? Thalia doesn't like you, does she?"

I decided this was not the proper time to tell Leo and my friends about this revelation. We all (Jason, Leo, Hazel and Frank) had been in school for an extra two hours because of this adviser thing, and I bet the others were as tired as I was.

I shook my head as a response, "Thalia likes someone else. I'll tell you all later. Send in the next person. I want to get this over with, as soon as I can."

 _'I wonder what happened with Thalia. Did she tell Percy somethimg worth worrying about? He looks serious...'_ , I heard Leo thinking.

Leo nodded though he looked concerned and proceeded to send in my next client.

I had a lot on my plate right now. Grover and mom had been acting weird and tense ever since I told them that I had a crush on Annabeth. Mom even admitted that she had something important to tell me. That impending talk with my mom was already enough headache and now this whole 'Annabeth- **loves** -me' thing.

Oh God, I hope I survive till the end of today.

* * *

As soon as Chris Rodriguez went out the door, I heaved a tired sigh. He was the last client of this 'Find out if your crush likes you back' thing and since I was done with him, I didn't need to stay here any longer. Well, it would be rude of me to just dump rearranging the Drama Club room back again on my friends, so I'd help them put the desks and chairs back in the room. No matter how tired I was, friends come first.

I just sat on my chair silently, wondering why Leo hadn't already barged in, demanding to be treated to tacos. I couldn't read anyone's thoughts because they weren't within a ten-feet radius of me. I didn't even know if my friends were still outside because it was so silent. Then, just as I was about to get up and take a look outside, someone knocked on the door and Frank came in.

Frank Zhang was this Chinese Canadian sophomore in Goode High who was probably the tallest student in school. Frank has a large and stocky frame yet a babyish face with brown eyes and close-cropped black hair. But he's the nicest, down-to-earth guy I've ever met. Frank is somewhat shy, cynical, and pessimistic due to personal clumsiness and his low self-esteem but he is sweet, soft-spoken, intelligent, and modest. Frank, Leo, Jason and I became fast friends and he started dating Hazel after knowing her for a few weeks only.

"Hey, Percy. Um, are you extremely tired?", Frank greeted, waving awkwardly.

Though I was definitely not in the best of moods, I cracked a grin at Frank's awkwardness. "Hey, Frank. Yes, I am extremely tired", I said, imitating Frank and waved at him.

Frank effectively blushed, "Uh, sorry. I'm a little nervous about how you'll react to... uh, this person who wants to meet you."

I frowned at this news, "Another client? I thought Leo said Chris was the last one."

"Well, she came here just a minute ago and demanded to meet you right now. We told her to wait till you were done with Chris."

I sighed, "Alright. I'll consult one more lovesick teenager. Send her in."

Frank nodded and I plooped down on my chair. Frank stepped out of the room and let in the one person I didn't want to see right now.

Annabeth Chase.

My breath hitched and I stood up from my chair, wondering why on hell would Annabeth want to meet me. She doesn't even talk to me. But... she **loves** me. And today is Valentine's Day. Oh God, what if Annabeth is here to _confess her love for me_? Oh no, if she tells me that she wants to date me, I wouldn't be able to refuse her. Because, well, my confusion (she **loves** me when she doesn't even know me that well) apart, I _do_ have a big crush on her.

Annabeth didn't meet my eyes, instead asked Frank to close the door as he left. I could tell Frank was conflicted about leaving me alone with Annabeth, because Leo had passed on the message that I had something important to tell them. He shot me a worried look and went outside. Annabeth and I were the only ones in the room, now.

 _'Annabeth loves you, Percy'_ , Thalia's words played on repeat in my head.

I wanted to ask Annabeth why she was here but I couldn't find my voice for some reason. Luckily, she started speaking, "Look, I just wanted to tell you that I want this room to go back the way it was. As the Vice-President of the Student Council and the head of the Drama Club, I'm just doing my duty."

I was still staring at Annabeth, thinking about Thalia's words.

Maybe Annabeth was waiting for my affirmation but she didn't leave. She looked around the room, taking note of the changes and then looked at the banner hanging with my name on it, for quite some time.

When Annabeth finally met my eyes, her eyes were harsh and cold as if she hated me. When I stared at her in confusion and uneasiness, her eyes softened and she silently stared into my eyes. It took me a while to muster up my courage and Annabeth had turned around and started walking to the door without a word, by then. I knew this was it. It was now or never. I had to ask her.

"Do you love me?", I almost-shouted in haste of speaking before she left.

Annabeth stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to face me. At first, she couldn't form coherent words for a reply and stared at me with wide eyes. So I repeated my question, "Annabeth, do you love me?"

Her breathing got heavy, "What- what makes you ask that?"

I gritted my teeth at her delay to answer my question but I saw no point in beating around the bush, "Thalia told me."

Annabeth broke eye-contact with me and diverted her gaze to the ground. I could hear her heavy breathing from ten-feet away. I started walking towards her and decided to approach her a different way.

"You never even talk properly to me. You don't look me in the eye. You're always ignoring me. You look at me like you know a billion things about me, but for all I know, you hate me. Yet Thalia told me that you love me. Not 'like'- **love**. I know Thalia enough to believe that she wouldn't play around with that word. All I want to know from you is why", I said, looking her in the eyes, even though she was not looking at me.

She snapped her head up and looked me in the eye, "You want to know _why_?" She glared at me with cold grey eyes, shining with hatred.

Before I could comprehend that she was more upset than angry presently, a tear rolled down her cheek. I desperately wanted to tell her to not cry, because all I was asking of her was some answers.

Annabeth started, "We met at Camp when we were twelve and became friends after a few conflicts. You and me- we went on adventures and fought against so many odds. We fell in love, Percy and yet you act like you don't remember me! How am I not supposed to hate you and love you, at the same time?!"

Angry tears stormed down her face and for a moment, I just wanted to stop arguing even if it meant I wouldn't ever find out what Annabeth was talking about. But I furrowed my eyebrows and lashed out at her, "What on earth are you talking about?! I didn't meet you when I was twelve! I met you in freshman year, when I joined school two months late. And I never went on any 'adventures' or to any camp, for that matter!"

"No, Percy, you met me at Camp Half-Blood. You attended every summer since we were twelve! Why are you pretending not to remember me? Why are you making this so difficult?!"

" **I** am making things difficult? Me? **You** are the one who never tried talking out whatever feelings you have with me! I spent three years thinking you hate me for some reason because you kept ignoring me and were hell-bent rude to me!"

"That's because you keep acting like you don't know me-"

"I **don't** know you!"

Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and a sob racked her throat.

"If you never knew me then how do I remember you doing all those things for me? When I had stupidly dived into the sea because I wanted to explore that dangerous island, why did you come after me and save me from drowning? When I got kidnapped and was taken to Mount Tam, why did you venture all the way from New York to rescue me? When we got lost in that dysfunctional maze that we had discovered under the Camp, why didn't you ditch me when we got cornered by those gangsters? And when that fire broke out at the Olympian Laboratories, you stayed by me because I was so scared. Why did you do that? Why did you do all of that when you never loved me, Percy?"

I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. I had never done all those things with or for her. I had never dived into the sea to save Annabeth and I had never even been to Mount Tam! I'm also pretty sure I've never been to an underground labyrinth or faced gangsters. And I don't remember anything of what happened when that fire broke out at the Olympian Laboratories because of trauma (as the doctors put it).

I was about to accuse her of making all of that up, when something weird happened... I saw Annabeth's memories flash in front of my eyes.

 _Annabeth was sitting alone on a familiar looking pier, overlooking a big lake with six canoe boats. She was really young, maybe twelve or thirteen, her short blonde curly hair in a messy ponytail. She was wearing a Yankees cap and an orange t-shirt, with a pair of jean shorts. Her legs were dangling and she was playfully swinging them._

 _Suddenly, a lanky boy with shaggy black hair, about her age appeared behind her. He made a motion as if to push Annabeth into the lake, but Annabeth spoke, "Seaweed Brain, I know you're behind me. Now, don't you dare push me into the lake."_

 _The mischievous grin slipped off the boy's face and he dropped down beside Annabeth. He started whining, "Annabeth, you're no fun! How come you always know it's me?"_

 _Annabeth gave him a sideways glance, "I just know, Percy."_

 _It took me a second to realize that the lanky boy was me. But he looks so young! I didn't know Annabeth when I was twelve!_

 _The young me pouted at Annabeth, who grinned and swung an arm around the young me. The young me started to grin, too._

 _The memory morphed into another one._

 _This time, Annabeth was lying on a single bed, in what looked like a plain white hospital room. Her head was bandaged and so was her right forearm. Her eyes were barely open and her hair was spread out. She looked a little older than last time._

 _A boy with jet black hair sat on a stool, beside Annabeth's bed. He was holding her hand in his, and I realized the boy was yet again me, though he looked about fourteen._

 _"Wise Girl, I'm so sorry", the younger me said, and I could make out that he was crying._

 _"Stop saying that, Seaweed Brain. Or I'll punch the lights out of you."_

 _The younger me smiled a watery smile and said, "As if you can. You couldn't even fight...", his smile disappeared._

 _"Percy", Annabeth said, tugging on his hand until he looked at her, "It was not your fault, okay. I just so happened to get mugged. And I got hurt, yes, but I'm alive, right?"_

 _The younger me stared at her and then slowly leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're my best friend, Annabeth. Don't ever scare me like that again. I won't be able to live if something happens to you."_

 _Annabeth gave a weak smile, "You're my best friend too, Percy. Everything's okay. As long as we're together."_

 _The younger me blinked away tears and said, "As long as we're together."_

 _The white hospital room morphed into a scenery._

 _"No, Percy, let me come with you!", Annabeth shouted at me. There was a massive commotion around us and people were running all around us. Annabeth was gripping a boy's arm, tears running down her beautiful face. There was soot on her face and clothes, and she had some minor burns on her hands._

 _That boy was me, looking about fifteen or a little younger than that. I looked scared too, my face covered in soot, similarly. I took note of a woman lying at Annabeth's feet, with blonde curly hair and similar facial features like Annabeth._

 _"No, Wise Girl, you stay with your mom. I'll be back in a minute! I just have to go get my dad. He's inside the building, Annabeth! I don't know how long he'll survive in all the fire and smoke! I have to go help him!", Percy shouted over all the commotion._

 _"No no no. What if you..."_

 _"Nothing will happen to me, Annabeth. I'll be fine. We've got no other choice."_

 _Annabeth glared at the Percy in front of her and then did something neither I nor Percy could've ever imagined._

 _She kissed him._

 _I could see the fifteen-year-old Percy's eyes widen and before he could react, the kiss was over. She pulled away from him and looked him in the eye._

 _"Be careful, Seaweed Brain."_

I gasped when the visions stopped, stumbling just as an unsettling feeling set in my stomach. Luckily, I caught the edge of a desk that was shoved by the wall, beside the door.

I blinked a few times. What had just happened? Why did I have those visions? I'm pretty sure that those visions were Annabeth's memories but how (and why) had she projected them for me to see? Till date, Annabeth's the only person who has been able to do that.

But this was only a part of the reason why I felt unsettled.

I had never met Annabeth up till in high school. She wasn't in the same elementary and middle school as me nor did I ever see her in Starbucks or a flower shop or something. New York is a big place but I definitely would have remembered her! And I swear I don't remember these memories that Annabeth has; I didn't do those things with her! And why would Annabeth create these fake memories?!

While I was immersed in my conflicting thoughts, Annabeth mistook my silence as something entirely else.

"What now? You're gonna say those memories are false? Or are you finally going to admit that you were faking not knowing me, the entire time?", she said, gritting her teeth, putting on a pretense of anger.

My thoughts were still in a jumble, so the only thing I voiced out was, "You... you call me 'Seaweed Brain'?"

She bit her quivering lip and looked at me, "Yes. And you call me 'Wise Girl' -at least, you used to."

I didn't know what to say.

The girl who had been appearing in my dreams for the last three years- she called me 'Seaweed Brain'. And so did Annabeth, which meant that...

"You're the girl of my dreams!", I exclaimed to her, in a nervous outburst.

Only when Annabeth's eyes widened comically did I realize what I had said came out in a different meaning.

I blushed, "Sorry, I meant to say that you're the girl **from** my dreams."

Annabeth looked skeptically at me, "What do you mean?"

"Uh... I've been having these dreams since... I got my powers", I explained, "And there's a blond-haired girl who calls me 'Seaweed Brain'. I've never seen her face in my dreams, so I hadn't figured that you were the one. And it's all these déjà vu memories with the girl and me that I see in my dreams... ", I trailed off, unsure if she understood what I was telling her.

"You dream about me? But dreams are merely imaginary events or visions occurring involuntarily in the mind", Annabeth said, intrigued.

I shrugged cautiously, "I don't know, but as much as those memories felt real, I really don't remember doing those things with you."

She was silent for some time and I knew I had offended her. Annabeth wrapped her arms around herself as if my words somehow made her cold and said in a small voice, "So you still don't believe me. You still think we met in freshman year and I'm lying about the whole summer camp adventures."

I felt the need to clear her doubts. "Look, I don't know why I don't remember you but I'm sure you're not lying. I trust you, okay? So just believe me when I say that I really don't remember you. Please trust me, Annabeth."

Somewhere during my consolation to her, I had stepped closer to her and we were only a foot apart. Our eyes locked and I found myself mesmerized by her gorgeous grey eyes.

Annabeth took my hand in hers and I mentally shivered at the contact, "Percy, I-"

The door opened, cutting off what Annabeth was about to say. I looked over Annabeth's shoulder to find Jason and Leo standing there. Did these two have to come in, right now?

"Holy Hephaestus! Witnessing the romantic union of two couples in one day- I must wash my eyes with soap!", Leo cried out, eyeing Annabeth and me.

Jason elbowed him in the arm and Leo grunted in pain while Jason said, "With all the R-rated things you say throughout the day, I think you should wash your _mouth_ with soap. And you can't wash your eyes with soap, you idiot, your eyes will burn."

I looked back at Annabeth and she pulled her hands away from mine. I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the loss of touch. I took note of how Annabeth's eyes had hardened and she was back to being the cold-hearted, rude Annabeth I thought I knew.

I stepped towards Jason and Leo and was about to start explaining when Jason said, "We should have knocked on the door first, right? I mean, we knew Annabeth was in here; we should've figured you'll be down to snogging her in a few minutes. Since you really really like her and you have the biggest crush-"

I pounced on Jason, clamping my hand over his mouth, effectively cutting him off before he could do more damage..

 _'Payback, Percy'_ , Jason thought, with a glint in his eyes and I could feel him smirking under my palm.

I knew Jason was talking about how Leo and I had tried to make him look stupid in front of his crush Piper, earlier this day. So, Jason was trying (quite successfully, might I add) to make **me** look stupid in front of my crush, Annabeth.

If only he knew how grave the situation was between Annabeth and me.

I glared at Jason when he put his hands up in surrendering pose, before slowly taking my hand off Jason's mouth. Leo and Jason shared a grin. To stop them from embarrassing me any further, I cleared my throat and said, "Annabeth was just here to-"

"I should get going", Annabeth said, cutting me off mid-sentence. She didn't look at me and kept her head down.

Just as she stepped around me to reach the doorway, I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jason and Leo share a glance.

"Annabeth", I said, tugging on her hand to make her look at me.

She shook her head and gently pulled out her hand out of my grasp, but didn't say anything. Jason and Leo made way for Annabeth.

"We'll figure it out, Annabeth. I'll figure it out", I said and Annabeth gave me a meaningful look before leaving the room.

Leo quickly ducked his head out of the room, checking if Annabeth was out of earshot. He then turned to me and said, "Percy, what was all that about?"

I heaved out a sigh, "I finally found out why Annabeth ignores me all the time." I looked at them, "And she kind of hates me...", I concluded with a wince.

"Ouch", Leo said, patting me on my back, "that lady's pretty harsh."

Jason guiltily said, "Perce, I didn't know things were serious between Annabeth and you. I thought you were trying to score a date with her... "

"Jason, it's all right. I'll explain the whole thing to you guys later", I said, massaging my forehead with my thumb and forefinger, "Now tell me why did you both barge in?"

"Your mom called. She couldn't reach you on your phone, so she rang up Jason", Leo said.

"She asked you to go home right away. Sally said that Grover will be leaving so on and he wants to talk to you. So we came to get you", Jason explained.

I knew what Grover wanted to talk to me about. My mom and he'd explain things out. They would probably even figure out what Annabeth was talking about.

"Get your things packed and go home. Frank, Hazel, Leo and I will wrap things up", Jason said, and Leo nodded his agreement.

"Thanks guys", I said and with a pat to their shoulders, I left the room, headed for home.

* * *

 **A/N: This was an important chapter so I did not want to rush it, and that's why it took me so long to update. Nonetheless, I'm so sorry for making you all wait!**

 **Let me know if you spot any typos! Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! Read and review!**


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